My family and I recently bought an amelanistic corn snake. She was eating fine just before she got to us, when she got here we put both a heating lamp and a heating pad and as a result the snake was getting overheated being why she wouldn’t eat. We then removed the heating lamp to lower the temperature for the heated cave being about 84 degrees Fahrenheit and the cooler end being about 75-77 degrees. We offered her food too early on and obviously refused it. We offered her a live newborn pinkie when we had believed her to be settled in okay and the heating was just right and refused it, most likely being the fact she was being handled too much. Hasn’t eaten in a week or two. Today, she got a piece of sticky Velcro stuck to her chin that was holding the thermometer thing to the side of her heated cave hide. We got it off successfully and there appears to be little disturbance under her chin area, except maybe tiny little scratches. We don’t think it will affect her eating ability. When should we offer her food again?
I know nothing about corn snakes especially babies but you could possibly post a pic or 2 so that someone who can help can see their condition.
What is your enclosure like, how long have you had her, and why have you guys handled her before she has eaten for you? You never handle them unless they have eaten.
The enclosure is the standard enclosure for adult corn snakes, we have had her for about 1 and 1/2 weeks and we have not necessarily handled her, just briefly for a few seconds examined her, or to try and use the feeding trick of putting her in a smaller enclosed space with her meal in the same container.
the image should give y’all the idea of her enclosure setup
You are supposed to let them settle for at least a week before feeding, with 2 weeks sometimes being needed. You also need a full week between feeding attempts. Can we have some pictures of her setup? And I don’t know what a “standard” enclosure is for a corn snake, since there are many recommendations. Chances are the enclosure is either too big or too open.
I understand what you’re saying now. Do you think it’s ideal that we leave her alone before trying to offer her food for about 3 or 4 days? Also I believe the enclosure is 20/25 gallons.
You will need to leave her alone for a full week. The hide in that enclosure is also too big, and you should have more than one in there if you intend on using a larger tank for a baby. You don’t need that big of a water bowl either, so you can get a smaller one and use the extra room for more hides/cover. A 20-25 gallon would also be small for an adult corn snake so in the future she will need to be upgraded. What room is she in? If she is in a high traffic room, then that could easily stress her too.
Wow! I have not been doing this right. Thank you so much for the help and corrections on what I have been doing wrong. My other adult male corn snake is much smaller than an adult female and I forgot how big females could get and how small hatchlings are.
Regardless of if you plan on keeping her in a large tank I’d suggest moving her to something really really small. My babies are kept in 2 gallon tubs for a good part of their first year (if not longer if they are particularly shy). A small cramped hide on the warm end and usually some enrichment (piece of cork bark, some sort of fake foliage ect) that can double as a hide on the cool end. Water bowl off to the side. Usually that’s it.
Babies like to feel hidden and cramped (some adults to tbh) and so you have to give them that. As well as alone time until they are consistently eating. The small tub setup allows you to peek open the lid, see baby hiding somewhere, and close without searching through a tank where the baby might feel like it’s being attacked with home and hides being moved around so much.